The Boston Marathon bombings brought terrorism to the forefront of Americans’ minds once again, but it does not represent an isolated incident. Several terror plots or acts were uncovered in various parts of the world this week already.
These attacks arrive just weeks before the two-year anniversary of infamous al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden’s death on May 2.
Libya
A car bomb detonated outside the French Embassy in Tripoli, Libbya, on Tuesday, according to NBCNews.com. Two guards were injured in the blast, and one remains in critical condition, a Libyan foreign ministry official said. There was also extensive damage to the area.
The French military’s intervention in Mali earlier this year has increased the threat of domestic terrorism in the European country. Analysts believe the military action serves to keep the unstable African nation from falling under extreme Islamist rule and to prevent terrorists from entering France. Libya’s government said it was a “terrorist attack” aimed at destabilizing their country, according to Reuters.
“I cannot say yet if this was linked to Mali or not until we get information from the investigation in progress,” Libyan Interior Minister Ashour Shuwail said during a news conference. “As I said, there were cameras in the area and a lot of discussions and there is some information, but we cannot speak about it until it is confirmed.”
The violence in Libya’s capital is the first attack on diplomats since a U.S. ambassador was killed in Benghazi last year.
Spain
On Tuesday, Spanish police arrested and detained two men allegedly linked to al-Qaida’s North African wing, according to Reuters. “The profile of these two alleged terrorists detained this morning, according to police, responds to the profile of the ‘lone wolf,’” Spanish Interior Minister Jorge Fernandez said. The ministry declined to say whether the men were believed to be planning an attack or providing support services for Islamist militants.
Ten years ago, a bomb explosion on four commuter trains during rush hour in central Madrid killed 191 people in Europe’s deadliest Islamist militant attack.
Canada
Two men were arrested and charged by Canadian police on Monday after allegedly plotting to attack a passenger train departing from New York. Chiheb Esseghaier, 30, of Montreal, was charged and awaited a bail hearing at a Montreal court on Tuesday. A bail hearing is scheduled for the second suspect, Raed Jaser, 35, in Toronto. Neither suspect is a Canadian citizen. Police have not revealed their nationalities.
Canadian authorities have linked them to al-Qaida’s factions in Iran, but police said there was no indication that the plan–the first known al-Qaida plot on Canadian soil–was state-sponsored. The attack would have targeted a rail line between New York and Toronto, which travels along the Hudson Valley into New York’s wine country and enters Canada near Niagara Falls, according to U.S. officials.
Michele Richinick